Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee, also of Liberia and Tawakul Karman of Yemen are the three women from Africa and the Arab world who were acknowledged by the Nobel Peace Committee for their non-violent role in promting peace, democracy and gender equality.We cannot achieve democracy and lasting peace in the world unless women obtain the same opportunities as men to influence development at all levels of society, said the citation read by Thorbjorn Jagland, a former prime minister who heads the Oslo based Nobel Prize Committee that choses the winner of the $1.5 million prize (quoted from http://www.nytimes.com/).
Leymah Gbowee and her non violent work for peace are documented in the film Pray the Devil Back to Hell. The documntary is available for purchase and will also be premiered on PBS October 18.
Ginger K. Hedstrom, Justice Associate
